Second Harvest volunteer Bob Cadwalader attended CAFB Legislation Day along with Joel Campos, Senior Manager, Outreach & Education at Second Harvest. The following is his blog entry.

CAFB Legislation Day April 24, 2013 is History

Second Harvest Food Bank, represented by Joel Campos and Bob Cadwalader, made its presence known to our two Assemblymen, Mark Stone and Luis Alejo and Senator Bill Monning. We were enthusiastically received as we asked for support for five bills and our overarching strategy, which was freely given. If we had this kind of support throughout the Assembly and Senate, California would be transformed.

The bills we support are:

• SB116: Permanently Extend the Emergency Food for Families Fund

• AB191: Food for Health – Aligning MediCal and Nutrition Assistance

• SB134: No Hunger for Heroes

• SB283: Access to Nutrition Assistance to Support Successful Reentry

• SB672: Working Families Anti-Hunger Act

We also supported the funding of the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the rebuilding and reinvestment in California’s safety net. A profitable day for all, our lobbyists gave good reports and our governmental representatives were encouraged to pursue these bills and programs.

CAFB 2013 Conference—Ending Hunger in California: Many Voices One Vision

Willy Elliott-McCrea, CEO of Second Harvest, was a presenter at this year’s conference. The workshop he participated in was called “Reaching In or Reaching Out? Empowering the Community to Reach Into Your Food Bank,” which examined how different food banks in California have adopted community involvement strategies that allow the community to move forward from hunger into health.

Using our own Nutrition Ambassador program as an example, Willy said, “A key component in moving towards self-sufficiency is that sense of empowerment and being able to help others. We try to give our families a chance to be givers as well as receivers, blurring the lines between volunteers and clients and reducing the sense of dependency.

Our Nutrition Programs create an environment where everyone can learn from each other’s knowledge and experiences. Participants share lessons learned and their new commitment to good nutrition and healthy living.